Blessed Obedience

My dog will do anything for green beans, hot dogs or chocolate. Even together. I know. Chocolate is terrible for dogs, I know. Before you begin to think I’m the worst pet owner, I promise I do not serve my dog any of these things purposely.

Okay, maybe once or twice, but only when times are hard.

When she had a bellyache and wouldn’t eat anything for days, green beans did the trick. When she’d run away down the street, the only thing that would send her galloping back was my voice yelling “HOT DOG!” (Or maybe it was my classy demeanor. Who knows?) And the chocolate? The only thing the dog could hunt was a Reese’s peanut butter cup.

So, when I think of obedience, I think of my dog. She isn’t the most well-mannered, but girl knows how to get what she wants.

If you sit, stay and roll over, then you’ll get a treat.If you run, hydrate and eat well, then you’ll lose weight.If you read, study and work hard, then you’ll ace the test.

As we read about the young men at the end of Daniel 1, the same seems to be happening. They have probably prayed, listened, kept faith and now they are blessed! But see, when I hear that, my heart fills in the blanks for me: If I pray harder, obey more and read the Bible, then I’ll be blessed. I begin to confuse blessing with a means to getting what I want, and I’m left feeling defeated.

Here’s the thing: our failure to perfectly follow Christ has already been defeated on the Cross. The connection between faith and works can become muddled and sticky, especially when we involve our own sinful, yet well-intentioned, minds to straighten it out. However, we can rest assured that, from God’s holy perspective, faith and works are never in opposition because His design for both is purposeful and good. Daniel and his friends didn’t follow a prescribed regimen for holiness. By God’s grace, they humbled themselves as His servants, so He would exalt them at the proper time (1 Peter 5:6).

When my dog isn’t running away for prepackaged meat treats, she spends the other half of her time perusing my closet. Other than maybe catching my contagious love for fashion, I don’t know where she learned this, because I absolutely did not teach it to her. Especially the part where she likes to welcome guests with a presentation of my dirty laundry.

Each day, she picks items of clothing, sinks her teeth gently into the fabric and parades it downstairs to her favorite spot. She sits in her scented souvenir pile each day, never hurting it, only lounging. Now that I think of it, this too, is my fault.

Because I leave my closet door cracked slightly, she can push it open with her nose.
Because I feed and love her, she wants to surround herself with my scent.
Because I allow this to happen, she can go straight to the reward, without an “if” or “then.”

The same is true for us.

Our obedience is always and only prefaced by God’s goodness and grace to us. The only “if, then” statement in the Bible we need to worry about is the one that was completed by Jesus—He turned our “if” into a “because”!

Because we are in Christ, we get to seek first the reward: the Kingdom of God!Because we are in Christ, our obedience is no longer driven by lack but by taking joy in The Giver!Because we are in Christ, His blessings are given with specific Kingdom purposes.Because we hold this as truth, we get to obey him by fearing the Lord and worshipping Him faithfully with all of our hearts (1 Samuel 12:24).

Friends, whether in exile or eating chocolate, we can only obey because of God’s grace.

May our obedience flow from the reward we already have in Christ.Amen.

Obedience is the very best thing – to show that you believe:) doing exactly what the lord commands – doing it faithfully! I loved this song when I was a kid:( Only with his help are we able to even desire to obey:) serving him is a gift from him! He is with us!

I’m being to understand that me drawing close to God is not a “requirement”, but rather a gift. The deeper the relationship becomes the more I want to know God and draw close to Him because Jesus died so I could. #Mercy #Grace #Love

Such a glorious reminder of how our obedience is in response to what God in Christ did for us on the cross, and how it's only by His grace we can be obedient and faithful!! And NOT the whole "if, then" mentality that is so preached in prosperity gospel churches and that seems to come so natural to us as selfish human beings. I know I struggle at times with demanding of God (silly, sinful me!), "Look God, I'm sacrificing here….bless me!" How I must make Him laugh and at the same time sad. Praise the Lord for his mercy and for allowing me to come to him to repent.

As my pastor puts it, "God isn't a spiritual vending machine." Thank you for this post!!!

The first verse I thought of while reading this was 1 John 4:19 "We love because he first loved us" When I studied a bit further I found this from Matthew Henry's Commentary and it fits so perfectly with this…

"We love him, because he first loved us, 1 John 4:19. His love is the incentive, the motive, and moral cause of ours. We cannot but love so good a God, who was first in the act and work of love, who loved us when we were both unloving and unlovely, who loved us at so great a rate, who has been seeking and soliciting our love at the expense of his Son’s blood; and has condescended to beseech us to be reconciled unto him. Let heaven and earth stand amazed at such love! His love is the productive cause of ours: Of his own will (of his own free loving will) begat he us. To those that love him all things work together for good, to those who are the called according to his purpose. Those that love God are the called thereto according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28); according to whose purpose they are called is sufficiently intimated in the following clauses: whom he did predestinate (or antecedently purpose, to the image of his Son) those he also called, effectually recovered thereto. The divine love stamped love upon our souls; may the Lord still and further direct our hearts into the love of God! 2 Thess. 3:5."

I'm a day behind. I'm tempted to forgo this comment, because… no one will really see it. And isn't that why we share? So perhaps others will see our comments and agree, or learn something? Perhaps validate us?

Regardless, here I offer a dog metaphor that I heard some years ago. It really stuck with me because of the power of the image in my mind. And if there is someone out there that needs to see this, well… I am choosing to trust that our amazing God will place it before her eyes.

It was a Christian radio 'blurb' from a 'top dog' (sorry, couldn't help it!) in the arena of Christian teaching. He said something like this. I'm paraphrasing, as I can't possibly remember word-for-word:
I was prodded in my heart to watch my little dog, and I noticed her absolute focus on me – how she waits to see if I'm staying put, or getting ready to walk to another room. I became very aware of how she watches me constantly when she is awake. She follows my every movement. She trusts me absolutely and will go where I tell her to go. She doesn't wonder where her food will come from – she knows that I have it and I will provide it. (You are seeing where this is going, right?) I am the center of her universe… she never fails to stick close to me when she is afraid, she never fails to keep me in her sights on any given day. I am her all and everything. Her reason for scampering this way or that. And I realized there was a great spiritual lesson here, in this amazing level of trust and awareness.

And I asked myself:
What if WE were THAT kind of devoted to our Lord and Savior? If we, like my sweet doggie, watched Him closely and followed Him everywhere without question – trusting without reserve? What if HE were the lodestone and we the magnet? (did I use that image correctly? My dictionary isn't available. Apologies if I got the definition of lodestone wrong…)

But you get the idea. Even if you aren't a dog owner, surely you can imagine, based on stories and movies, how intense and focused a dog's awareness is – how trusting her little doggie soul is, how much her world revolves around her owner, her 'Alpha'.

What if we trusted Jesus like that? What if we didn't make a single move without Him? What if we – without 'over-thinking' it – gave our whole focus and awareness to our Master? Watched His every move, centered our very existence around Him with no question, no debate, no argument, no temptation to move away from Him? MUCH food for thought….

I wish I could give credit to the author of that Metaphor. Since I cannot do that, I shall say "thank You, Lord, for opening my eyes to another gem of truth!!"

Thank you for this! I keep coming back to this post for more comments because I’m at turmoil with the if then idea.
One minute I get it the next I don’t.
1 John 2:12-14 shows us that Because of Jesus we are forgiven, we can come to know God, and we have overcome.
Other than that I find so many “if/thens” in the bible and am confused. Your story you shared shows me that it’s not so much an “if/then” or even a “because” but a simple obedience and awe to my Creator, my Provider, my Father. That it’s more about my relationship with Him, my trusting in Him, and my paying close attention to Him than anything else. I should stop tossing ideas around about the “if then” concept and just admire God. I pray to have the kind of love and admiration, like a new little puppy to their owner. I pray that I will seek out God and watch for Him, submitting fully to His control and will.

Your comment has helped me, reminded me, as I need to be reminded. Every once in a while I get the “if/then” equation in my head and I get a little self-righteous. And you are right, there are “if/then” situations in the Bible but we misinterpret those instances if we don’t remember the “he loved us” first part, “while we were still sinners”, “his surpassing greatness”, the cross…and all that you wrote and all the countless reasons to first and foremost be awed by our god, and after that then we can try to think “practically” about our obedience toward him. Amen!

"If/then can cause us to be self-righteous" you hit the nail on the head for me that was so convicting. Thanks for your post. God did it all and He loves me the same today and tomorrow and forever, I will be in awe of Him and keep both eyes on Him and follow Him because he loves and cares for me so much.

Barbara, I too am a day behind. I read the content this morning and just sat down to take a quick look at what people posted. I am so glad I got to read your post. It is amazing and makes so much sense. I do want to trust Jesus like that but then the human in me takes over and I try to run my own show. Praying for all the SRT ladies that we can be that faithful to our Master. Thanks!

Thank you for sharing, even a day later! Just wanted to say that I read your comment…what a great analogy! I'm not a pet owner myself, & never would have thought about how intently a dog watches its owner. Thanks for sharing!

Jesus says if you love me you will obey my commands (John 14:15). The whole bible is filled with if, thens from God so I’m struggling to understand the concept of because.
I get the point that because we love God we obey him. I don’t know. I’m just confused today. Please pray for revelation for me sisters!

I struggled with this devotional too. I think, to your point, that is a different kind of if, then. Jesus was talking about a natural reaction that will happen if we genuinely love Him. The devotional focused more on the idea of “if I do a good deed, then this blessing will come to me.” Using that model can be a way to just get what we want, but in reality God has already promised us blessings and love–we don’t have to work for them. So yes, if we truly love Jesus, then He will change our hearts to yearn to obey His commands. But also, it’s not “If I obey and worship God, then He will love and bless me.” It’s “Because God already loved and blesses me with so much, I will obey and worship Him.” That’s what I got after wrestling with the idea for awhile. Hope that makes some sense!

It is very true. It’s because of His grace and love for us. Because he continues to bless our family immensely among our struggles and I often don’t feel I deserve it. It’s simply because God is who He says He is. It just only makes me want to draw closer, and grow.

I appreciate so much the truth that issues from these lessons. This is meat not milk.
I've always thought this of Daniel. He wasn't following laws , his heart was following God. Trusting God with the outcomes. God asks us to seek Him, Love Him with all our heart and seek His kingdom and that's what Daniel does and teaches us to as well. God will take care of you. Leave those Details to Him.

I have struggled throughout my life with the sticky works/grace struggle. To do good works for me to feel good becomes my goal instead of chasing God. Father, change my heart. Woo me and draw me into the purposes you have for me. Spirit, lead me. Thank you, Jesus, for making my works unnecessary. May all I do flow out of love and thankfulness as an offering.

the thing that jumped of the page to me today is how much of a HEaRT thing this is.Its all about the heart.Yesterday Daniel purposes in his heart..Today Faithfully worship with all your heart.There is so many times I obey or try to obey without asking God to change my heart.I don't go deep enough with the Lord,asking him to clean my heart.O that I may purpose in my heart..to worship him with all my heart!

This caused me to stop and seriously think about why I do good. Do I think that it will bring me blessings? The answer is no. That isn’t why I do good. On days where I’m clinging close to God (which is more often than not), I just feel better. I feel like a better person. I feel joy inside. I look at the world in a different way. I’m thankful for my struggles and the things God is doing in my life when it seems like nothing is happening. But, I also believe that God does good for those who love him. But, it is definitely not an if, then for me at all.

I didn’t realize how stuck I was in the “if, then” brand of obedience until reading this today. This is such an important shift of mindset. I love the point Carly made…”if, then” makes it all about us.

One thing that really stood out to me was…because we are in Christ, His blessings are given with specific kingdom purposes. The blessings in my life are not a reward for good behavior, they are a gift/tool to use for God’s glory and His purpose. Wow! Lots to think on today. Lord, please help this message to sink deep into our hearts and not be lost as we move forward with our days.

The thing that strikes me about Daniel's position is that he was in a place he likely didn't want to be, yet he obeyed and did "being there" very well. He was "all in" regardless of his place and God blessed his position for it. God had a plan to use Daniel to make great change, if Daniel went kicking and screaming what kind of impact would he have made? Certainly not one others would have taken very seriously or been keen on listening to. How many times does God ask something of us and we do it, but so begrudgingly. We plod along our position because we have to, not because our obedience positions us to, but because we have a chore mentality. If we can train our hearts to remember, just as we breathe, that our life is about God, then our tasks would feel less cumbersome and we could look towards our struggling seasons with a little more anticipation and grace then conflicted-ness. It's not about where we are, it's about what God is going to do with it.

There are always going to be times that our jobs, our marriages, relationships, journeys put us in situations we'd rather not be, but are we going to pout our way through them, standing firm like a toddler fitting, or dive in and do it well? Remembering that a significant part of obedience is doing it out of the desire to show our appreciation for all that He does, for the reward He has already supplied. If we focus on obedience as a task, how is that showing love? I am reminded of a season that the path laying out before me was one I did not want to go down. I was not in control of my situation and I knew that some of the choices were not ones God-centered, but I had no choice to walk it out. In that season, there was a song by Avalon that became my daily prayer. What God pointed out over time in that, is that in those situations, when paths are forced upon us, He is still with us. He doesn't send us down the walk without Him. He knows it's a dark and troubling time and He walks it out with us. If we let Him, He will use it. It will be for His glory, somehow and we can lend ourselves, our lives as instruments to His purposes through our graceful obedience. ~ B

That I don't want to go somewhere
If I know that You're not there,
'Cause I know that me without You is a lie.
And I don't want to walk that road,
Be a million miles from home,
Cause my heart needs to be where You are.
So I don't want to go
Without Your touch,
Without Your love
Filling me like an ocean.
For Your grace is enough,
Enough for me.

Thank you so much for this powerful reminder B……..especially as I head back to work (to say it can be physically and emotionally draining is an understatement), these past few days of studies have really hit home……truly preparing my heart….

"a significant part of obedience is doing it out of the desire to show our appreciation for all that He does, for the reward He has already supplied" — this really resonated with me!

Looking at the if . . ., then discussion, it is not "if I obey, then God blesses" but really the inverse (as so many biblical truths are in contrast to the world's ways) "since God blesses, then I must (and will be compelled to) obey Him and do good works"

B! Thank you! I’m in my own ‘place I’d rather not be.’ Yet, I chose this place initially. And along the way, the more I kick and scream and fight it, the more it keeps me stuck and miserable. And boy am I tired of all this selfish nonsense. Owning it, surrendering it, and realigning it with Him for His purposes. It’s going to be hard work, but keeping on forward with Him – choosing obedience – is so worth it! I’m grateful for your words, B.

You just described a tar-ry quicksand, Beverly. The more you kick and scream, the more it holds on to you. I know we all fall into this pit from time to time. Surrender your place and the pressure will ease up. You know this. Continuing to be prayerful over this position for you. I know God has great things planned! ~ B

I love the idea of struggling with grace. Sometimes I find myself struggling with a particular kind of unintentional ugliness or snark that just feels icky….and at the same time, kind of justified. Thanks for the reminder that even the trudge through the muddier fields of life can be done with love and light if we are in Him.

So beautiful! I think we have all struggled with being obedient. I love your point about how David obeyed regardless of what the situation looked like. Obedience is less about someone restricting or telling you what to do – although we have long understood it with that "chore" mentality. With Jesus it is all about trust. The more we break ourselves from our fleshly ways of thinking we know best, or wanting to be in control – we will understand everything He lays in front of us or directs us to do is for our good. I think I struggled with this for a long time because I was in between wanting to trust God wholeheartedly and thinking I knew the best way to get the job done. Obedience is powerful and I believe the enemy uses this if, then mentality to trick many of us into thinking there's a wrath or a very negative cloud around that word. We really have to throw out everything we think we know when it comes to Jesus. His definitions are so different from what we think.

Two parts of today's readings are singing to my heart right now:
First, when Kaitlin writes "so He would exalt them at the proper time," that's convicting for me because there's a part of me that wants to be the one to decide when then proper time is (usually NOW, heh). I have to remind myself that the healing, peace, wisdom, or deliverance I pray for WILL come and only God knows when the time is right for that. I have to remember that probably nine times out of ten, the reason the time isn't right is because of me. Chances are that my heart isn't yet open enough, my mind not yet receptive enough to take it what he has for me. And when it is, His promise of grace and peace will be fulfilled.

Dog metaphors are often lost on me, but the images of a closet door left cracked open, a hand that feeds and love…wow! I feel that from God. And I need to cling to that idea that He's always going to leave a door open for me. His hand is always there to feed and love me (what I need, not the chocolate that I want but will make me sick). There are some times when I give in to feeling unworthy or like I deserve the hard times I'm facing, but I need to remember that God's foremost goal for me is my oneness with Him, which brings with it surpassing peace and joy. So instead of worrying about what I want or what I think I need, what I really should be doing is keeping my eyes trained only on him. Obedience, closeness, and most of all, love.
Peace, Sisters!

Helen, these words of yours spoke to me: “I need to remember that God’s foremost goal for me is my oneness with Him, which brings with it surpassing peace and joy.” Yes, this is God’s primary goal. And may it be my primary goal as well. Often I get caught up in thinking “God wants me to show His love more, I need to be better at quiet time, I should have done more praying today. ” But without that closeness to God, none of it will be authentic. And as I draw closer to Him, these things fall into place naturally.

I feel ya! Sometimes it's hard to see all the distinctions because those actions you described *do* serve to bring us closer to God. I think, for me anyway, it's about entering into those times with a prayer for openness and receptivity. I have to ask God to bring that closeness to life because, let's face it, I'm human through and through and feeling close with someone I can't see or touch is difficult sometimes. You're right that the actions and drawing closer feed each other.

I struggle with the "if, then" of obedience, too. I am driven to please, be it my family, my boss, or my God. I work hard for a pat on the back. It is a struggle to wrap my mind around the fact that there is nothing I can do to make God love me any more. Or any less. Kaitlin, thank you for your words today. They helped frame faith and works in grace. "May our obedience flow from the reward we already have in Christ." Amen!

I have been really struggling with this for a long time now. When i hear this message, I keep thinking about Gods promises for blessings for obedience vs curses for disobedience in the OT. I have learned the incredible pain of his discipline – and now I know that, deep down, I obey out of pure terror. I know this is wrong but I can’t seem to break out of it.

Hi Sue,
I really sympathise with your feelings of obeying out of fear. I have been there myself. But be encouraged that ‘The Lord disciplines the one he loves’ (Heb. 12:6). He disciplines us because He is a loving, faithful God who cares about us. And also there is nothing we can do of ourselves to obey, it is His Holy Spirit working in us. Rest in Him, knowing that He wants what is best for us His dear children, and that there is much joy in obeying when we know that it is only by HIS strength that we can serve Him.
Love in Christ,
Elspeth
x

Sue, this broke my heart for you because it can lead to a life of striving that is exhausting. Praying today that the bondage to obedience in fear will be broken and you will begin to know the obedience from joy and a grateful heart. (I’m not saying you aren’t grateful now just that gratitude we be your motivation.). Believing for you today.

May I commend the book “crazy love” by Francis chan. It’s a great insight on loving God and all he is, verses fear.
I understood the concept best when I related my relationship with my son.
I want him to fear me. But not in the sense I want him to tremble and shake and hover when I lift my hand but from the perspective of being afraid that as his mother I will have to discipline him if he disobeys. This is only because I love him and want the best for him. Discipline has the same root as disciple. So my discipline is to teach him not hurt him. I want him to love me and fear me out of respect not anger.
God is so amazing. I need to work on loving Him for who He is. Not focus on my salvation so much.
I’ll be praying for you!

The "if, then" brand of obedience can be easy to fall into, but it makes it all about us- it's about what we do, our motivation is to get what we want, and it is almost looking at it as if God owes us something for our obedience. It can also cause us to doubt God's love for us and withdraw from him when we have been disobedient. Instead of coming to him in repentance, we back away in fear.
But really it's all about God- it's about what he has done and us responding to that out of gratitude and love, giving him what he is due. I'm thankful that we don't have to gain his favour by our obedience, but because of Jesus, we have his favour, and we have his Spirit living in us to help us obey.

Carly, thanks for your input on these posts! I've seen enough of them over the past few days that I've started looking for them on a regular basis. They always add an additional insight that I really appreciate. Keep on!

Kaitlin, what a beautiful perspective your words have brought into my heart. I too often fall into the trap of thinking if I do the right Christian things, my life will be blessed. But my life doesn't depend on what I do or don't do… it depends on who I am in Christ, by His grace alone. And in Christ, we are who He says we are… Loved. Redeemed. Chosen.

Lord, may my obedience in following You not be motivated by the rewards I seek, but by who You are in all Your glory.

Thank you for the reminder. I'm praying right now for grace as I try to honor God's call to remain obedient to Him through a difficult time in my marriage. The most difficult thing for me to do is give up control, but I'm trying to listen to what God has to tell me instead of forcing my way to an "if, then" reward.

Prayerful over your season right now. That in it, you will find God's peace and that you will be overwhelmed with His guidance and grace. That you will move as He asks you to and that whatever you are working through, be quickly lifted. ~ B

Prayin for you Lulu & Stephanie, I believe that God is able to work in and through your difficulties right now though it may seem bleak at times. I pray that he strengthen you both to stand strong in the midst of the trials knowing that his grace is sufficient and that his strength is made perfect in our weaknesses.

May he protect your marriages from every form of attack and may you both experience renewal and restoration of your marriages.
Amen

This is the prayer I needed to hear today. It is the control, it is the stronghold that is driving the sense of lack of trust. That he will never be able to get it right. Who am I? But yet a piece of my imagination I chose to sabotage. Addicted to the disappointments and arguments because it’s all I know. But yet I pray for a difference. Maybe if I stop sabotaging myself, I can experience what He truly has for me in my heart. My heart is the one last thing I have yet to relinquish… but yet out is the key. Only God…

I too am in a time of transition in my marriage. I need to make some changes and I am only responsible to change me. I can't change him only God can. Praying for all of our marriages that God would use these tough times for His glory.

.dear Lulu. I'm in a difficult scary place in my marriage too. Thank you for sharing that about yourself. It gave me hope that I'm not alone. I'll be praying for you and would appreciate your prayers for me as well. Love in Jesus Kay

Dear Father, please help all if these women, and the ones who chose not to share. Comfort them, guide them. Give them strength, love, (and the strength to love!). Give them wisdom, discernment, forgiveness, humility. Send people into their lives that can help. Show them how they can honor you through difficult times. Thank you Father. Obviously you know so much more about each situation than I do . . . Please help each lady to feel your love today. Be a Daddy to them. Wrap them in your arms, kiss the tops of their heads, wipe their tears, and tell them how beautiful they are, and how much you love them. I ask these things in Jesus’s name.